Severna Park posts perfect score in dominant MDXC JV girls performance

HUNT VALLEY, Md. — Leticia Detrow of Maryland School for the Deaf captured the individual title, but Severna Park delivered a remarkably dominant team performance, sweeping the next five places to post a perfect score in the Black & Gold Junior Varsity Girls race at the MDXC Invitational on Oct. 10 at Shawan Downs.

Detrow, a senior, won the individual race in a season-best 19 minutes, 45.8 seconds, finishing more than 33 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Then came a wave of Severna Park runners.

Junior Avery Girton led the Falcons with a personal-best 20:18.9, finishing second overall. Freshman Emerson Hall followed in third at 20:31.1, sophomore Kylie Crockett was fourth in 20:44.4, junior Reese Mikeska finished fifth in 21:02.1, and freshman Violet Gibbons crossed sixth in 21:06.3. All five recorded personal-best performances.

Because Detrow competed for a team that did not record a team score, Severna Park’s five runners occupied scoring positions 1 through 5, giving the Falcons a perfect 15-point team score.

The Falcons’ five scorers combined for 1:43:42.8, averaged 20:44.6, and were separated by just 47.4 seconds.

Severna Park’s depth extended well beyond its scoring five. Freshman Molly Potocek finished eighth overall in a personal-best 21:07.3, and sophomore Elizabeth Childress was ninth in a personal-best 21:11.8. That gave Severna Park seven of the first nine runners across the finish line.

The race for second was dramatically closer.

Notre Dame Preparatory finished runner-up with 110 points, just three points ahead of Our Lady of Good Counsel (113). Bethesda-Chevy Chase placed fourth with 125, while Archbishop Spalding rounded out the top five with 135. Only 25 points separated second through fifth.

Notre Dame Prep was led by senior Calleigh Kelleher, who finished 18th overall in a personal-best 21:58.2. Sophomores Clara Saidha and Avery Hankinson added finishes of 26th and 28th overall, respectively.

Our Lady of Good Counsel’s Annika Benowitz led her team’s effort with a 13th-place finish in a personal-best 21:45.7, while freshman Abigail Adler finished 24th in 22:22.3.

Crofton finished sixth with 164 points, followed by Richard Montgomery (223), National Cathedral for Girls (309), Georgetown Visitation Prep (336), and Broadneck (354) to complete the top 10.

While Detrow’s wire-to-wire result provided the individual highlight, Severna Park’s extraordinary depth defined the team race. The Falcons placed five runners consecutively from second through sixth overall and seven among the first nine finishers, turning one of the largest JV fields of the meet into a perfect-score victory.

Top five teams: Severna Park, 15; Notre Dame Preparatory, 110; Our Lady of Good Counsel, 113; Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 125; Archbishop Spalding, 135.

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Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors who helped make the MDXC Invitational an outstanding day of cross-country racing at Shawan Downs.